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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Clarification of Tax Treatment of Employer-Owned Life Insurance
Excerpt: "The IRS, in Notice 2009-48 (the 'Notice') provided guidance on the taxation of employer-owned life insurance ('EOLI') under Code §§101(j) and 6039I /1/; in question and answer form. Although §101(a) generally excludes from a recipient's income any death benefits payable due to the death of the insured under a life insurance policy, §101(j), enacted by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, limited the exclusion from the policy owner's income for proceeds payable under EOLI. The Notice is effective June 15, 2009. The IRS has stated that it will not challenge a taxpayer that made a good faith effort to comply with §101(j) based on a reasonable interpretation thereof before then." (Tax Management Inc.)


[Guidance Overview]
Compensation and Medical Insurance Issues for S Corporations
Excerpt: "Some factors in determining reasonable compensation: Training and experience; Duties and responsibilities; Time and effort devoted to the business; Dividend history; Payments to non-shareholder employees; Timing and manner of paying bonuses to key people; What comparable businesses pay for similar services; Compensation agreements; The use of a formula to determine compensation." (Internal Revenue Service)


Support Slips in Congress for Tax on Employee Health Benefits
Excerpt: "Senators are cooling to a proposal that would impose a first-ever tax on employer-provided health insurance and are giving renewed attention to taxes on the wealthy to pay for a sweeping health-care overhaul." (The Wall Street Journal)


Employment-Based Health Coverage and Health Reform: Selected Legal Considerations (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt: "This report presents selected legal considerations inherent in amending two of the primary federal laws governing employer-sponsored health care: the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)." (U.S. Congressional Research Service)


Physicians Strike Back at Employers' Collection Firms
Excerpt: "As healthcare becomes more expensive, self-insured employers are ratcheting up the pressure on physicians by hiring outside collection firms to dun them for what the employers claim are past overpayments. Physicians are angry about these ex post facto demands, which often concern claims that were paid years ago, and they have enlisted their medical societies to fight the companies that are doing this." (CBS Interactive Inc.)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]
California's Proposition 8: Defines 'Marriage' As a Union Between a Man and a Woman (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Despite the significant loss of the right to marry, same-s.ex couples in California can still obtain the same legal rights and protections as spouses by entering into domestic partnerships. California enacted a domestic partnership law in 1999; this law remained in effect throughout the short-lived legalization of same-s.ex marriage. Domestic partners are defined under state law as 'two adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of caring.'" (Thompson Publishing Group via McDermott Will & Emery)


[Guidance Overview]
IRS's Multi-Year Random Audit Program on Employer Tax Returns
Excerpt: "The IRS announcement noted that although these random audits may target any reporting aspect of the tax return, the primary focus will be to verify whether the taxpayer has complied with the relevant employment tax law concerning: Worker classification (employee vs. independent contractor); Executive compensation; Fringe benefits; and Reimbursed expenses." (Haynes & Boone)


[Guidance Overview]
Government Reverses Position on ERISA Theft Indictments
Excerpt: "The issue presented in U.S. v. Jackson is of critical importance in the enforcement of ERISA criminal provisions. . . . At issue - are unpaid ERISA plan contributions plan assets? The District court had held that the defendants were properly convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 664 and § 669 because the funds withheld from employee wages were plan assets. The Fourth Circuit agreed. The defendants sought Supreme Court review. In an interesting turn of events, the Solicitor General reversed the government's position on the theft indictments. The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Fourth Circuit and remanded for further consideration in light of the Solicitor General's new position." (Roy Harmon III via Health Plan Law)


Federal Employee Pay and Benefits Legislation Awaits Lawmakers
Excerpt: "Congress has several bills under consideration, including legislation that would affect federal employees. Here is a recap of some issues that lawmakers could vote on before they leave for August recess." (GovernmentExecutive.com)


Companies Are Targeting 'Feel-Good' Benefits to Cut Costs
Excerpt: "[A]s employers clamp down on even the smallest costs, [adoption assistance] and other high-profile offerings -- including child- and elder-care referral services, matching of charitable contributions and scholarships for employees' kids -- are being cut back, according to a new national survey. The trend suggests any benefit perceived as a frill can be in jeopardy, no matter how low its cost or how wholesome its image." (The Wall Street Journal)


Philadelphia Confronts the Cost of Employee Benefits (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt: "Against [the recession] backdrop, one of Philadelphia's biggest expense items -- its employee benefits -- has emerged front and center. The amount Philadelphia spent on health care benefits and pension costs alone stood at $830 million, or 21 percent of its general fund budget in fiscal 2009. This is up from $590 million, or 17 percent in 2005 and $403 million, or 16 percent, in 1998. Under a city plan that needs approval from the state legislature, pension costs are projected to decline over the next two years -- before rising dramatically. By 2013, the bill for pensions and health care combined is projected to approach $1.1 billion, or 26 percent of general fund spending. And that estimate is based on the assumption that the city's total health care expenses will stay about where they are now." (The Pew Charitable Trusts)

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Press Releases

PSCA Releases 403(b) Target-Date Fund Survey
Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA)

John Marshall's Kozak Named to CBA, ABA Positions
John Marshall Law School, The

Segal Advisors, Inc. Announces New Officer
Segal Advisors

HighRoads Debuts Health and Welfare Consulting
HighRoads, Inc.

Goldleaf Partners Names Sales Director for Leading Independent Provider of Employee Benefit Administration and Consulting Services
Goldleaf Partners

P&A Group Launches Marketing Campaign Focusing on the Fee Based Advisor Retirement Channel
P&A Group

Sibson Consulting Expands Sales Force Effectiveness and Performance and Rewards Practices
Sibson Consulting

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